大象传媒

鈥淩owena鈥� 鈥rashed into the house shouting 鈥楧UCK!鈥� 鈥�

In the Air Training Corps (ATC) we learnt something of aerial navigation: Course, Track, Drift鈥he course was the direction in which the aircraft was aimed. The track was the direction of travel over the ground and the drift was the difference caused by the aircraft being affected by the wind. The track could be determined by a series of sightings onto an object on the ground. One reason for The Blackout was to hinder the enemy determining his track and the wind.

During one raid two 鈥榤ines鈥� landed in the West Derby area of Liverpool a mile or more from 鈥�51鈥�. Was it Ballantyne Road? The first exploded but the second鈥檚 parachute caught in a tree and the Wardens were able to tie the mine in the tree until it could be dealt with.
A citizen was missing after that incident and his body was found on the roof of The Mansion House some distance away some weeks later.

Rowena must have used her key to enter the house - unless the door had been left open for her and Dad - for the door had no latch, only a lock. She dashed into the house shouting 鈥楧uck鈥� and threw herself down on the floor. Only seconds later came a great 鈥榃HOOMPH鈥�. 鈥�51鈥� sustained no damage that night that I recall.
Rowena said she鈥檇 seen a parachute going over. But why did Rowena feel the parachute boded ill, and how did the explosion occur so soon after her warning? Perhaps this was the night of the two mines.

It was decades before I realised those mines on Liverpool were not 鈥榯error weapons鈥� as were the V1s on London later. Those mines were sea mines intended for the River Mersey but carried by a wind wrongly assessed or wrongly applied by the bomb aimers. Ships were sunk in The Mersey possibly by such mines. There is an example of such a mine in Liverpool鈥檚 Maritime Museum. Could it be the one in the museum is the one the Wardens tied to a tree?
Were those mines Magnetic Mines?

Explosions were strange! Buildings further could be more damaged than those nearer. 鈥�51鈥� sustained not a single broken window yet one of the inward opening doors opened outwards until it was repaired.

An ammunition train was hit in Tuebrook a mile or two from 鈥�51鈥�. That night must have been a particularly heavy raid (or the targeting was local?) for I was in an Anderson 鈥� perhaps the Dingwall鈥檚 at 49?
From time to time the place would light up (the raids on Liverpool were always at night) and some seconds later there would be a mighty 鈥榳hoomph鈥� and the Anderson seemed to rock. This happened a number of times probably as successive railway wagons exploded.

Railway men won gallantry awards that night.

The following day there was 鈥榤ucky cotton wool鈥� scattered over a wide area and all the trees had 鈥榤ucky cotton wool catkins鈥�. There were parts of railway wagons on Queens Drive 200 yards from 鈥�51鈥�.
Felipe鈥檚 house was nearer the train and I went to see. They had not been hurt but the house was badly damaged and they had to be re-housed. There were houses that had lost a whole wall so that one could look into rooms as if they were doll鈥檚 houses.

鈥渁nd wept鈥ut why then?鈥�

The reason the Mothers wept after that early raid was expressed by the phrase they all used as they looked at the glow in the sky.
鈥淭he Docks!鈥�
The experienced and wise mothers appreciated the significance鈥t was no less than A National Disaster! Thoughts of The Dead did not cause them to cry.

鈥渃ould it be he was too terrified to meet us?鈥�

Surely Mr Gibbs would not have let us go without saying something. He was too dignified and too courteous.
The motto on our school badge was in Greek. To transliterate: it was 鈥楢NDREZESDTH鈥欌�︹�橞e courteous and act with courage if you can鈥�.
It was many years after the war, pondering on Mr Gibbs鈥� apparent discourtesy on that occasion, I suddenly felt Mr Gibbs could really have been too terrified to meet us!

Mr Gibbs had told staff and parents a tale of why Oulton was to be closed. His explanation would have been accepted. But Mr Gibbs himself was 鈥楢 need to Know鈥� and he would have learned, what the Nation was not told, that there was a battle in the Atlantic, and we were losing.
Surely Oulton was needed for the War.
Mr Gibbs might have been afraid that in the emotion of saying 鈥楪oodbye鈥� to the Prefects he might let the cat out of the bag.

I queried Liverpool Maritime Museum, sixty years later, about Oulton but heard nothing.

鈥淲hat are you reading?鈥� and 鈥淭he only Bren gun鈥�

The University鈥檚 鈥楽enior Training Corps鈥� (Was there 鈥榓 Junior鈥� 鈥� I never met one?) had regular parades, drills and assault courses鈥nd shooting with rifle, Bren and mortar. I never threw a hand grenade other than a dummy.
There was 鈥榓 camp鈥�, which took a slice out of our meagre vacations.
We went on a particular assault course, which had a cliff that we had to descend hand over hand down ropes. Most of us had negotiated the cliff and were on our way down the course when the Army Instructor stopped us and ordered us to form up (three ranks at attention). It seems a following student had fallen down the cliff.
The Army Instructor simply blasted us with 鈥淭hat is the only Bren gun we had!鈥�.
We were never told who that student was or what happened to him.

On parade we were inspected by General someone, The Officer Commanding Northern Command. It was then I discovered we were not just 鈥楬ome Guard鈥� but 鈥楢 Counterattack Battalion鈥�!

The General stopped in front of me and asked, 鈥淲hat are you reading?鈥�. I replied, 鈥淚鈥檓 not reading anything Sir. I just haven鈥檛 got time!鈥�
My answer was greeted with laughter because the question meant 鈥榃hat University Course are you on?鈥�

鈥榯he optimum pattern of ack ack batteries鈥�

Ack ack batteries are antiaircraft batteries.
I know little of this but Gordon Bell (across the road from 鈥�51鈥�) was 鈥楢 Predictor mechanic鈥�. Predictors were aiming devices for ack ack batteries. They were mechanical computers with binoculars or something. Gordon had a spider in a box for replacing 鈥榗rosshairs鈥�.
There was virtually no chance of hitting an aircraft with a shell; the idea seemed to be to coordinate a group of guns so that their combined shrapnel would hit an aircraft as if in a box. Hence the student鈥檚 problem concerned how many guns to a battery, how to aim each gun of the group, and how to time the firing and the explosion of each shell.

We were not told the Daysbrook Lane ack ack gun, a single gun, was merely to boost our morale. It could hit nothing! I wonder did it fire dummies or no projectiles at all?

Gordon got TB. He must have died. I was never told. Was he, although in the army, buried from St Christopher鈥檚?

Death was second nature. Rowena鈥檚 friend Jack Dalrymple 鈥� Val Griffiths, the OC of 鈥楽t Christopher鈥檚 Boys Brigade鈥� (from where Doug graduated to The Terriers). I think Jack died in Italy in 鈥楾he Reconnaissance Corps鈥�; and Mr Griffiths, who was, I believe, on Montgomery鈥檚 staff, was killed by a mine in North Africa.

In Liverpool there were thousands of casualties.

鈥楬enri鈥檚 Law鈥�

What things remain in memory? I do not seem to remember Mum, or Arthur or Billy the dog. Is this because they were so familiar? Surely Mum and Arthur would have been with me 鈥榰nder the stairs鈥�? Or could Mum have gone into the pantry, which was a small room with four strong walls and possibly safer than 鈥榰nder the stairs鈥� if the house had collapsed?

I have no memory that 鈥楤illy鈥� was the least bit upset by the bangs. He was a Scotty mongrel and had a tiny but strong 鈥榢ennel鈥� in the kitchen. He was quite old.

I remember Pillar Boxes had their tops painted green, and that we had to go back to the school to have additional canisters added to our gas masks.
And I remember in a lull one night Rowena was reading in the Living Room when a blast sent soot out of the fireplace and Rowena looked like a Kentucky Minstrel. But I do not remember that mess being cleaned up. But someone must have put in a lot of work doing it!

Now 鈥楬enri鈥檚 Law鈥� I do remembered. It was such a surprise!
In the Electric Lab one day the team had connected 12-volt cables to a huge DC motor. I noticed instantly the motor started turning the wrong way, and I seized a cable and a terminal to change the connections and was thrown across the room.
鈥�12 volts鈥�!

鈥業 felt guilt; such a feeling as people were to have years later鈥�

For my visit to Prestwick Aerodrome I had 鈥榓 sleeper鈥� (a bunk) on the train, believe it or not.
I do not know if Prestwick Aerodrome was unique in Britain or whether The Geneva Convention protected it. I think it was 鈥楢n International Airport鈥�. There was no rationing there. I suppose it was because of the aerodrome鈥檚 status that there were sleeping compartments on the train. Notwithstanding the Bloody slaughter between the Nazis and us there were Rules?
I felt guilt knowing there was no rationing there and I could eat what I wanted! I found it difficult to eat anything at all! And feel I only had what rationing would have allowed.

鈥� 鈥楢n ethereal fossil鈥� of an incoming V2鈥�

A fossil is, in simple terms, an impression of the prior existence of something. There may be nothing of that something left. The fossil itself will not last forever.

One sunny day in 1945 I was alone in 鈥�504鈥�. It must have been lunchtime as I was alone in the office. I was standing in the window at Mr Austin鈥檚 chair and looking at that place that so moved Wordsworth.
It was a clear sunny day. The sky was blue without the vestige of a cloud. As I looked at St Paul鈥檚, a couple of miles away on the skyline, the Sun would have been South -to my back as I faced St Paul鈥檚.
My eyes were focussed on St Paul鈥檚 when 鈥榓 straight, opaque white, gossamer thread鈥� appeared. The thread was one or two units long and perhaps six units above St Paul鈥檚 鈥� 鈥榓 unit鈥� being 鈥榯he height of St Paul鈥檚鈥�. The thread was vertical and it was vertically above St Paul鈥檚. It was quite fleeting.
The thread was 鈥榩recise鈥�. That means there was nothing from it up into the blue and nothing from it descending to St Paul鈥檚.
I realised the thread鈥檚 portent, as Rowena must that parachute鈥檚.
I stood watching St Paul鈥檚 wondering what would happen and anticipating confirmation.
I seemed to wait a long time and had almost given up; but it may only have been thirty seconds? Then beyond St Paul鈥檚 a neat column as of grey brown marble rose. The neat column went to twice the height of St Paul鈥檚; and then seemed just to disappear without ever becoming untidy.
That V2 must have struck in the Finsbury Square direction.

As usual after six years of The War I put it out of my mind.
It wasn鈥檛 until the 鈥�911鈥� outrage in New York (2001?) that I recalled the column, and guessed its height as about the height of the World Trade Centre Towers.
It was only then, sixty years after, I thought of The Dead.
I did not go to see where it struck.

Was that V2 unpainted I wonder.

JOHN KNIBB

[This story was submitted to the People's War site by Wolverhampton Libraries on behalf of John Knibb and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions]

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